The winner of one contest will wind up in the White House. The other will probably play for the Bowl Championship Series national title.

For the last century, sports and politics have happily coexisted in America, often creating a blurry line between what people are passionate about and what really is important.

As the two obsessions collide this week in Tallahassee, there seems to be agreement on one thing: The election may decide the future of the country, but the football game may go further in determining who is happy for the next 365 days.

''Around the nation, I don't know,'' Florida State receiver Snoop Minnis said. ''But in Florida, I have the feeling more people are going to be concentrating on our game.''

Is there any harm in that?

Florida State student Angie Cheatham doesn't think so. Like so many Americans over the last week, she has been monitoring the election on TV and in the newspapers.

She knows there are constitutional issues at stake, the psyche of a waiting nation in limbo. She also knows her moments as a college student are precious.

''I'm a political-science major, so the election is important to me,'' Cheatham said. ''But it's my senior year, so the game is going to take up most of my attention this weekend.''

The mixing of metaphors between sports and politics long has been a staple of American life. Tight political campaigns are called horse races; some football coaches are so beloved, ''they oughta run for president.''

Politics and sports mix in more tangible ways, as well.

In Nebraska, voters just elected former Cornhuskers coach Tom Osborne to Congress. Steve Largent, J.C. Watts, Jack Kemp, Gerald Ford -- all football players who became politicians.

In Florida, a state that takes its rich football and political traditions seriously, the ties are just as deeply entrenched.

Secretary of State Katherine Harris, the politician making some of the most crucial decisions regarding election recounts, is the granddaughter of Ben Hill Griffin, a cattle and citrus magnate. Florida plays football in Bell Hill Griffin Stadium, aka ''The Swamp.''

Former state Attorney General Jimmy Kynes once played linebacker for Florida. Citizens in Gainesville just sent one-time receiver Perry McGriff, part of a long family line of successful Gator football players, to the Legislature.

Even the Florida-Florida State game is a product of politics. Then-Gov. Leroy Collins brought the schools athletic directors together in the mid-1950s and ordered them to schedule a football game as soon as possible. The first game was played Nov. 22, 1958. Florida won 21-7.

Suddenly, however, with a presidential election and a college football season on the line in one small Southern capitol, some Americans may wonder if they have their priorities straight.

One sociologist believes these conflicting priorities could actually be a sign of the strength of the country.

''The interest in who wins the football game and how the election turns out are intricately linked,'' said Robert Thompson, professor of media and popular culture at Syracuse University. ''People in this country are secure in knowing the nation will continue to be administered in an effective way, no matter how the election turns out. That's one of the things that makes it possible to be obsessed with things beyond politics.''

When fans turn the TV off late Saturday, they will have a sense of finality. They may not like the result of the game, or they may disagree with a crucial call by the referees, but the scoreboard always rules after the final gun sounds.

''There's something deliciously relieving about a football game,'' Thompson said. ''You sit down with a bag of chips, a six pack of beer, and by the time you go to bed, you have a pretty good idea of whether you owe money at the office pool the next day.''

This year's election has failed us in that respect.

''At least we'll know who the winner is after the football game,'' Florida student Nicholas Pasken said. ''This year, with that election, who knows?''